Jake “The Snake” Roberts: “I started drinking when I was 11″

thesalon.com posted an interview with Jake Roberts. Here is a few excerpts:

Q. Vince McMahon is known for offering free rehab to any WWE wrestler, past or present. Did you take advantage of that?

Roberts: I did, twice. I thank him immensely for it and wish I were in the same spot that I am now when they had contacted me and wanted to help. Even now, they’re helping by paying for my psychotherapy. That’s something which is incredibly expensive and I’ll need to do it weekly for years before starting to see the benefits. Not only that, but Vince has offered to help put the right people around me. The WWE doesn’t have to continue with these free rehabs and I’m extremely grateful they do. We’ve had our arguments and I’ve bashed Vince in some of my drunken, drug-filled rants, but he’s the smartest human being across the board. To me, he’s the caveman that came up with fire.

Q. Your fans also rallied through online campaigns to help pay for your shoulder surgery. Did that surprise you?

Roberts: Absolutely. I’m a no-tech redneck and had no idea anybody was still even thinking about me. I was worried about having burned some of those bridges. It’s nice to know that I did something right along the way.